Social Enterprise
What is Social Enterprise?
Social-mission-driven organizations which apply market-based strategies to achieve social purposes and driving social changes.
Organizations with a Social Mission
1. Social Enterprise Coalition www.socialenterprise.org.uk
Calling themselves ‘The Voice of Social Enterprise’, Social Enterprise Coalition is the UK national organization working with members to share best practice and showcase the benefits of social mission enterprises. Note their definition: ‘Social enterprises are businesses set up to tackle a social or environmental need.’
2. Social Enterprise Alliance www.se-alliance.org
This is the US national body for social enterprise practitioners. It aspires to support and spread the social enterprise movement which has seen ‘an increasing number of organizations working toward sustainable social innovation by applying the power of market-based strategies to advance social change.’
3. Ashoka: Innovators for the Public www.ashoka.org
The world’s first and most influential organization promoting social entrepreneurship worldwide. There are over 2,000 Ashoka Fellows from over 65 countries who are leading social entrepreneurs. Ashoka’s vision: Everyone a Changemaker, that is, a world in which everyone has the means and courage to change the world for the better.
4. Skoll Foundation www.skollfoundation.org
Jeff Skoll (the first employee and subsequent president of eBay) set up the Skoll Foundation in 1999 to pursue his vision of a world where all people enjoy and employ the full range of their talents and abilities. The Foundation identifies, supports and celebrates social entrepreneurs from all over the world. It also hosts the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, the speeches of which could be accessed from this site.
5. Schwab Foundation www.schwabfound.org
Social entrepreneurs, according to Schwab Foundation, drive social innovation and transformation in various fields including education, health, environment and enterprise development. The Foundation elects Social Entrepreneur of the Year in numerous countries in the world and invites all of them to present their achievements at the Schwab World Economic Forum in Davos, providing a powerful bridge between the civic and business sectors.
6. School for Social Entrepreneurs www.sse.org.uk
This is a unique school for aspiring social entrepreneurs (see feature in Social Entrepreneurs Newsletter, Issue No. 2), providing them with training and opportunity to enhance their creative and entrepreneurial abilities for social benefit. Check out the student stories which represent insightful attempts to turn dreams into viable businesses.
7. Grameen Bank : Banker for the Poor www.grameen-info.org
Founded by Mohammad Yunus (Nobel Peace Winner 2006), Grameen Bank is probably the most well known and influential social enterprise in the world. Their website deserves to be thoroughly studied. It is an inspiring case of how an individual and a social enterprise could change not only the fortune of millions of people but also the consciousness and paradigm of the world.
8. Global Links Initiative www.glinet.org
Founded in the UK in 2004, this tri-lingual site (English, Chinese and Japanese) offers a unique angle on the development of social entrepreneurship in Asia, particularly China. Check out their Chinese language site which has extensive coverage of emerging Chinese social entrepreneurs. Probably the best source of information in this area. Also contains free downloads of books in Chinese on the subject of social entrepreneurship.
9. Social Enterprise Resource Centre, Hong Kong Council of Social Service www.socialenterprise.org.hk
A bilingual website which provides an overview of the social enterprise scene in Hong Kong, and offers a wide range of service in support of new and existing social enterprises. The site also serves to educate the public on the potential benefit of social enterprises and provides a platform to share experience and explore collaboration among organizations from social and business sectors.
10. Social Venture Hong Kong www.sv-hk.org
SVHK aims to provide financial, intellectual and human capital support to the development of social entrepreneurship in Hong Kong. Founded by a group of young, committed professionals, SVHK employs a high-engagement approach to create social impact. Find out what they do and how they do it, and decide whether or not you would like to join them.